Grudzielanek joins Players Talk

On the latest Players Talk show, Kansas City Royals second baseman Mark Grudzielanek discusses the players he looked up to as a child, what it was like coming up through the Montreal Expos organization, and how he was able to manage the transition from shortstop to Gold Glove-caliber second baseman.

Grudzielanek, who signed a one-year extension with the Royals on Monday, has been incredibly consistent over his Major League career, and this year has been no different. He's batting .303 with 41 RBIs and provided veteran leadership on a very young Royals club.

In addition to his offensive talents, Grudzielanek has become a dominant defensive player in the latter stages of his career, taking home his first Gold Glove Award in 2006. The 37-year-old says that being honored with a Gold Glove was one of his proudest moments in professional baseball.

"It was something that was a real personal goal of mine," Grudzielanek says. "You work hard and you do everything you possibly can to get to the elite class -- you want to be the best when you play Major League Baseball and I accomplished that last year."

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.